Three Launceston Uniting Churches listed for sale

Uniting churches on the market

The Uniting Church has announced the sale of three Launceston properties, including the heritage-listed Balfour Street Church, as part of plans for the future of the congregations.

The church has recently restructured its congregations into a South Esk Cluster that covers the Evandale, Hadspen and Launceston South churches.

As part of the restructuring, the church has announced that real estate company Harrison Humphreys will be handling the sale of three properties: Balfour Street Uniting Church, on the corner of Balfour and Margaret Streets, 3 Chant Street, and a church at White Hills.

The sales are planned to fund a new building within Launceston to become the home of all three congregations.

“The Cluster has considered where it would be housed for some time and believes it is more appropriate to find a new site which fits the direction it plans to take rather than seeking to re-design either of the existing sites,” Synod Liaison Minister Rev Carol Bennett said.

Rev Bennett said the Uniting Church’s presbytery office in the manse on Margaret Street will also be moved to another location within Launceston.

“[The Cluster] has some exciting plans for the future which will be made clearer once it has settled on its new site,” she said.

The Balfour Street Uniting Church site is about 3550 square metres and includes the church building, a hall, a manse that has been converted into office accommodation, and a car park.

Formerly the Methodist Church building, the Balfour Street site was built around 1889 and listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register in 2013. Expressions of interest in the church are open until June 1.

The second property listed for sale is at 3 Chant Street, and includes a large single-storey brick church and a tennis court, to be auctioned on May 20.

The building is listed as having potential for development into multiple dwellings or more, depending on council approval.

A third property outside Launceston at White Hills, on Blessington Road, includes a small church and cemetery, open to expressions of interest until May 20.